Hello everyone! 10 weeks later and I’m still here in Washington and with no end in sight I’m trying to make the most of it. It’s been another tough week across the country, and here in our Nation’s Capital, and I don’t want to downplay the significance of what’s going on so that’s where I’ll start this week. The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis saddens me greatly. If you are a regular listener of my podcast, you know that I don’t shy away from talking about racism in America and some of the horrible incidents which have occurred in our country’s history. Racism and violence towards minorities is not something which ended with the Civil War or the Civil Rights Act and it’s something which is an everyday reality for many of our fellow Americans. I try and keep politics and controversy to a minimum in this space, but there should be no controversy in this. A man was killed for no good reason and when that happens the person who did the killing needs to face the harshest of consequences. In this case, all the good cops should be leading the charge as what happened was a disgrace to the badges they wear.
Beyond that, I don’t know the answers. I wish I did. It’s been hard to watch the vandalism going on in my city and in my neighborhood. I wish that it hadn’t come to that, but I’ve been watching backlash for years over peaceful protests and sadly this seems to be what it takes to peoples’ attention. I’m trying to keep my ears open right now and really listen to what my black friends are saying. Their reality is different from mine and I acknowledge that and I am listening. I think the thing which affected me most was a tweet by Seth Green which said “Black people are literally saying ‘stop killing us’ and there are people saying ‘but…”. A change has got to come. What’s past is past, but there is still hope for the future.
With all of this weighing heavily on my mind, I’ve been trying to stay productive this week. I’ve been getting some photos edited and published and some writing done as well. I got to some great photos from Forest Hills, a neighborhood near my house which confused people as the name isn’t in common use. I have my photos from Antietam done, too, and they came out really well. I’ll get them published in the next day or two. I’m also making some headway on one of the books I’m writing, although it will undoubtedly take longer than I anticipated. I also finally went ahead and cleaned my camera sensor this week. It took less than a minute and was unbelievably easy, but it made me nervous as you’re never supposed to touch your sensor. I’m glad I did though because it really needed it.
Last Friday, we got the beer we’ve been brewing into bottles and I’m looking forward to giving it a taste next week. It looked really good coming out of the fermenter though. Saturday my mother cooked a wonderful Colonial style meal which was really delicious. Sunday I went over to hang out with some friends. We sat on opposite ends of the yard and chatted for a couple of hours. I wish I could play with their kids and their dogs, but at least I got to see them in person.
Tuesday my mom and I continued our exploration of the Civil War’s Eastern Theater with the next two major battles after Antietam at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. We had been to both battlefields before, but it was nice to have some time to explore and understand what had happened there. We had a wonderful day together, packed a great picnic lunch and enjoyed the early summer weather.We also enjoyed some background history from the great podcast History That Doesn’t Suck. This week being what it was, we were most touched by the story of Richard Kirkland who risked his life to bring water and comfort to wounded soldiers from both sides near the Sunken Road at Fredericksburg. The statue in his honor on the battlefield is “dedicated to national unity and the brotherhood of man”, which I can definitely get behind. We also enjoyed the old Chatham Manor which was a headquarters and hospital during the war and the memorial to Stonewall Jackson who was shot by his own men at Chancellorsville and died of pneumonia soon thereafter. Next week we will continue chronologically to Gettysburg which will be a big day. We’re looking forward to it.
I’ve been enjoying some summer fruits this week with strawberries finally reaching their peak and watermelon getting there too. The roses are blooming in our yard and have been really nice to look at. The weather has been great too, but has warmed up today with storms rolling in later this week. Before the warmer weather hit, I had the chance to clean out my van really well. I’m sad that it’s parked here when we should be out west exploring together, but I hope to get moving again in a couple of months. There are a few repairs I hope to do when I get the opportunity, and hopefully we’ll be good to go before I know it. Where and when is all yet to be determined. For right now, I’m continuing to stay home and stay safe. I hope y’all are staying safe too.
That’s all I’ve got for this week. Thanks for reading and I’ll be back with you again next week. Be good to each other out there and remember you’ve never walked a day in anyone else’s shoes.
-Mike